How mentoring helped one CA reframe her skills and take her next career step

Catherine Osborne CA and her mentor, Joe Graham CA, reflect on how mentoring helped overcome self-doubt, refine goals and advance her career.

When Catherine Osborne CA joined the ICAS Mentoring programme, she wasn’t looking for someone to decide her next step. She wanted a structured space to think, challenge her own assumptions and rebuild confidence in the CA qualification she had worked hard to achieve.

Her mentor, Joe Graham CA, expected to guide those conversations - but soon found his own mentoring approach evolving. What followed was a partnership that demonstrates how impactful mentoring can be when it’s focused, honest and built on mutual trust.

A career shift that sparked uncertainty

After qualifying with EY, Catherine moved into a Relationship Manager role that suited her strengths. But stepping away from technical work created an unexpected confidence gap.

“I really struggled with imposter syndrome and confidence issues regarding my CA status.”

The challenge grew when she was approached about an internal role that required CA expertise. Despite her credentials, she wasn’t sure she was equipped to apply - and that hesitation led her to the ICAS Mentoring programme.

A mentor who knew when to step back

Joe entered the relationship ready to offer guidance but quickly recognised that Catherine didn’t need answers - she needed space to reach her own.

“As our conversation developed, I realised Catherine didn’t need answers.”

Her turning point came when she stopped checking what he thought she should do and started defining her own direction.

“When she elected to align her goals with her values, I then believed my mentoring had levelled up.”

For Joe, it reinforced a key principle: mentoring works best when the mentor guides thinking, not makes decisions.

A partnership built on trust and clarity

Joe prioritised creating an environment where Catherine felt able to think openly and independently.

“Building trust is essential… We can only work with what the mentee chooses to share.”

Once that trust was established, their conversations became more targeted. Catherine could clearly identify what was holding her back: feeling ‘less’ of a CA after leaving audit.

That clarity let them focus on her confidence, capabilities, and next steps.

“He built a really safe environment, which allowed me to be really honest about how my confidence issues were impacting me,” Catherine says.

From there, they reviewed her achievements, highlighted her strengths, and found examples she could use to show her capabilities.

Reframing what a CA can do

A key moment came when Catherine reconsidered what the CA qualification equipped her to deliver.

“He reminded me of the holistic nature of the qualification… that it brought me a lot of skills and experience, not just how to write journal entries.”

Seeing the fuller picture helped Catherine realise that her technical foundation was still strong and her broader experience added real value.

With Joe’s support, she prepared for the internal opportunity she had previously felt uncertain about - and ultimately, she got the job.

Confidence in the profession and why mentoring matters

Catherine’s experience reflects conversations happening across the profession, particularly among women. She recalls attending an event where a speaker asked the room who felt financially confident.

“Not a single woman put their hand up.”

Her sessions with Joe helped her put these feelings into perspective and see how her experience strengthened her CA training.

“He encouraged me to consider how my unique experiences have complimented my CA training.”

The mentor’s perspective: why more CAs should get involved

Joe believes many CAs underestimate how valuable their experience can be to others or overestimate what mentoring requires.

“Give it a go - there’s no right or wrong approach.”

He stresses that mentors don’t need direct experience of every situation. Often, the value lies in sharing how you would analyse a scenario or approach a challenge.

“The skill is in guiding them to come up with the solution themselves.”

And mentoring isn’t a one-way benefit.

“Mentoring is as much a learning experience for the mentor as it is for the mentee.”

Mentoring in action

Catherine gained the confidence to pursue a role she once hesitated to consider.
Joe strengthened his mentoring approach through real, practical experience.

Their partnership shows how effective mentoring becomes when conversations are focused and aligned to the mentee’s goals and how much clarity can come from simply having the right space to think.